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Have you counted your lucky stars lately?

I hope you have your loved ones close and that they are happy and healthy. Sending out all the healing thoughts to those who need them.

The wonky diamonds in this stitch out design Lucky Stars are about 1 inch in length, but I can imagine them being at least 3 inches long too.  It looks great on projects with themes like Christmas, universe, stars, plants, vegetation, nature, jewels, jewellery.

This meandering design uses arched lines to connect the sets of 3 wonky diamonds. These arched lines make it possible to fill those ...

Only 20 years in a Bin!

Last week was a euphoria-filled week. I quilted every day—and tried a couple of new-to-me techniques. But first, look at this label:

Obs, it was not finished in 2018, but that was the original intent. That’s also the year I went back to college and my quilting took a hiatus. After 3 semesters, my health let me know that maybe I didn’t need to further my primary career and by that time, my workload had increased due to some staffing issues. Now that I’ve retired I would like to go ...

Sometimes simple is best!

Today’s freemotion design is variation of the classic Stipple. The Comb design gives a bit more structure as there is a sequence of movements, but you are free to change up to rules to suit your needs!

The FMQ design is based on two shorter ‘fingers’ and one longer one. This longer one moves over the two shorter ones to ‘encapsulate’ them. If there is no room to do the actual ‘comb over’, let that longer shape move wherever it needs to go to fill your space.

Because of the ‘two short, one long’ sequence ...

Wallflowers, vintage tiles or star bursts? What does this quilting design look like to you?

The freemotion design Wallflower is a simple grid based quilting design that goes well with themes like flowers, tiling, kitchen, bathroom, vintage, retro, stars and the universe. Depending on your grid size, you may apply it as an edge to edge or as a background filler.

I lost the video footage of me quilting out this design and I had to redo it. You may spot the difference in fabric and thread colors in the photos. Redoing this design wasn’t a problem at all ...

Let’s go fly a kite!

This freemotion quilting design looks like a series of kites strung like beads on a necklace. Or maybe you see a squadron of manta rays soaring through the ocean?

This dynamic design looks great on projects with themes like flying a kite, outdoor activities, children, childhood, manta rays, ocean, sea creatures, wind, Mary Poppins.

Why Mary Poppins?

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One of the joys of Springtime is going for a sunny walk in nature, discovering new paths, different vistas and beautiful plants. The design Trail resembles such a walk, the lines look like a wandering path through a landscape, moving away from and moving back towards your path.

The allover design Trail is mix between a curl and Stipple. I have written about stippling before and expressed my amazement that a lot of quilters learned the Stipple pattern as one of their first freemotion designs. I understand the appeal of a good stipple, but this freemotion design really isn’t ...

Floating in a stream, moving with the current, just relaxing! That just sounds wonderful.

The edge to edge design Drift is an allover freemotion design that is based on a continuous line with curvy bends. The design looks like kelp drifting in a stream, don’t you think? This FMQ pattern would work great on quilts with themes like nature, water, ocean, sea, river, fishing and meditation.

Pattern Tutorial

The designs based on feather shapes on the inside of a deep curve. The combination of the two feathers looks a bit look an oven mitt too. Depending on the way ...

Edge to edge quilting designs are a great way to a finish a quilt, but they can be a bit confusing. Some freemotion quilters fear getting stuck in a corner and having to break thread.

Well first of all, breaking thread is not the end of the world! Just do it, and continue somewhere else!

Secondly, knowing the structure of the design and its ‘escape possibilities’ are really helpful to prevent ending up with those awkward spots where you have gotten yourself stuck.

And let’s not forget, you are ALLOWED to cross of your already stitched line. There is ...

The youngest member of our family clan is really into animals, especially if they make a lot of noise. The lions and bears have been recently joined by dinosaurs. Whhraaahhh!

The last three designs I shared were either dense background designs or grid patterns. It is time for an edge to edge, don’t you think? Meet the design Dino Eggs. (Dinosaurs’ eggs wouldn’t have made a lot of noise, so I think we are safe to use them on our quilts! read more

The trees are still barren, but the first signs of Spring are showing up. The hellebore plants are outdoing each other with their bright white flowers and a solitary crocus shows it’s purple petals. This winter has been very grey and I have been longing for some warmth and sunshine. Dappling sunlight through the canopy of a tree and a soft warm breeze rustling the leaves sounds really good at the moment.

This week’s free motion design is called Canopy because it consists of leaf shapes that move in all directions, just like that rustling canopy that I ...

Let’s end this year with a sprinkling of flowers! Spread joy and kindness wherever you go, see the beauty of the world and fill your hearts and quilts with love.

Happy 2025!

The design Ogee Flower is a playful allover freemotion design that is based on a combination of a spiral, hops and ogee shapes. The flower is echoed to continue on to the next flower and it fills your quilt pretty quickly.

Ogee is the name of an architectural shape often used in arches. It is composed of two s-curves that come together in a symmetrical point. It ...

Are you working on some last minute Christmas gifts or are you already piecing a Valentine’s Day quilt for next year? This week’s freemotion quilting design would work for both!

The design Curly Hearts is a dynamic allover or edge to edge design. It can be used on a whole quilt or to fill around a shape in panel if you like. I can see this also work as an imitation of Santa’s beard of the wool of a sheep.

Pattern Tutorial

This edge to edge design use backtracking /traveling over already stitched line, but it is ...

Do you want feathers on your quilt, but they have to be a bit whimsical and modern? I have a great design option for you!

This edge to edge freemotion design lets you indulge in single feather shapes and curve them to the left or to the right. The design can be used on a quilt with a theme like: birds, water, waterfall, splashes, flowers, plants, leaves and the jungle.

Pattern Tutorial

The Feather Fan design is based on a series of single feather shapes placed next to each other, like the feather crest on a cockatoo’s head or ...

Fall weather has made its entrance and I have already grabbed my enormous fleece hoody to cocoon in in the evenings. I have started work on a Halloween quilt project which I will share in a separate blog post later this month and have taken the cinnamon tea out of the storage cupboard. Here comes sweater weather!

The Comtesse edge to edge design is airy and soft, like leaves falling off the trees in a gentle Autumn breeze. The word comtesse is French for countess, a female of a certain rank in nobility. The Comtesse design reminds me of gentle ...

The Stipple design is a free motion staple! Such a versatile pattern: great as a chunky allover design, and gorgeous as a background filler.

For many of us this design is one of the first we have ever tried to learn, which has actually puzzled me over the years. Why would a beginner quilter be guided to a pattern that has no safe place to stop and start so they can think where to go next?

Stippling requires multiple skills; going in all directions and flipping the design (the inside shape can become the outside of the next shape), keeping ...

Before we delve into this week’s design, I would like to welcome the new subscribers! Some of you have joined through the Free Motion Quilting Summit that was held last week and some other quilters have found this blog through the links in YouTube. Could you please leave a comment and share, I would love to know how you have found this blog. Thank you!

It is time for an angular edge to edge design! The Mountain edge to edge is a random and dynamic design that would work well in any scale. You can use it as a ...

This design is named after a person I know who travels the world to discover its beauty and who creates meaningful connections where she goes. It flows from spot to spot with curved lines and adds sets of three loopy triangles.

This edge to edge pattern would work well on a coat or bag and table runners too. Think about projects with a theme like travelling, propellors / airplanes, connections, friendships and nature. Maybe this design looks more like a flower to you.

Pattern tutorial

This design is most dynamic when using curved lines to move around instead of straight lines ...

To all the free motion lovers out there, have you already signed up for the Free Motion Quilting Summit that starts in 9 days? I am one of the 16 teachers who have created videos for this three days event. You can sign up for FREE, HERE. If you would like longer access to the videos and also get all the goodies, like my extra mini course, you can sign up for the All Access Pass. The Summit totally focusses on free motion which makes it unique in the quilting world. Don’t miss out!

On this blistering hot day ...

I see fireworks! The kind that are positioned on a pole and twirl around, throwing off sparks in all directions. You know the kind?

This pointy and dynamic edge to edge design would quickly fill your quilt. This is a beginner-friendly pattern because there are so many places where you can stop and think where you want to go next.  I wouldn’t recommend this for an absolute beginner. Creating even curls and echoes can be tricky. But if you have those down, try it out! 

Lines can be quilted closely together as in the sample, but you can quilt ...

Free motion quilting is like doing a puzzle where you have to create your own puzzle pieces to complete the image, don’t you agree? You work yourself into a corner or you end up with a weird empty spot. In many cases, traveling along already stitched lines is a great solution to get to the area you need to be at. But travelling isn’t a skill that comes easily. This week’s design will get you some more ‘training in traveling’. I will also explain my vision on how large your designs can be when using a domestic ...